SoulMark
by OnceKate
Summary: "I need you to run as fast as you can, and get away from here. When this is over, get to the nearest hospital and have them check over you. I'm needed here, but I'll find you when this is all over." He promised as he stared directly in her eyes, as he rubbed his thumb over her soul mark. He then let go of her and ran straight into the heart of the battle. Full summary in Chapter 1
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** I do not own anything from Marvel. Only the OC characters

 **Most people go their whole life searching, and waiting for the opportunity to meet their destined match. People are bound to one another by shared marks on their skin. Every matched pair, or matched group, share this mark as a way to identify one another. Anthea, however, was not like most people. Growing up, she watched her father abuse her mother, and began to resent her mark. For her, it felt like a trap. A loss of her freedom and choice. So she never looked for her matches, and instead focused on her career and the life she built on her own.**

 **CHAPTER 1**

The day of the alien invasion in New York City, began like any other day. "Yes, Erica, I'm on my way. I'm just running a little bit late. Dex knocked my phone of the charger and my alarm didn't go off. I'm not going to miss class, I'll just be right on time."

"Sure, sure I'll believe it when I see it. If you're going to be late though, might as well make the most of it and stop and pick me up a coffee. I had a late night last night." Anthea laughed when she heard this. She'd known Erica for years, they became friends their freshman year of undergrad after being paired as roommates. Erica was known to enjoy a more social scene that Anthea, she hoped it would help her find her match faster if she was constantly around new people.

"The last time I stopped to get you coffee on the way to class I was 10 minutes late. I fully blame your ridiculous coffee orders. Start ordering a plain coffee or an espresso and I might consider." Anthea joked.

"Not all of us can stand to drink liquid tar, anyways you have 5 minutes till class starts, so if I was you I'd start running." Erica hung up, and Anthea took her words to heart and began to work her way around the people on the street to prevent herself from being too late. Both Anthea and Erica are medical students at the NYU school of medicine, both in their second year. Erica's parents are doctors at New York Hospital, and highly encouraged her to pursue the same path. When Erica found out that Anthea was also wanted to become pre-med they were inseparable. They both helped each other were they could, and pushed each other in order to get where they are. Anthea was so caught up in her mind, that it wasn't until she realized that everyone was stopped that she realized what was happening.

From the top of STARK tower a hole opened in the sky. Anthea watched as hundreds of creatures began to descent from the giant hole in the sky. For a moment, everything was silent as people stared in shock. As the creatures hit the ground the real panic began, These creatures were landing all around, breaking into buildings and shooting at all those in the streets. A massive ship of some sort was flying through the sky, allowing more of these creatures to jump off into the streets. It was knocking into all the building, sending pieces flying in the street.

The people surrounding Anthea broke out in a panic, pushing and shoving as they caused a stampede trying to escape from the horror that was occurring. Anthea was surrounded by pure chaos. Guns were being fired all around, children and adults both alike were screaming and crying. Everyone was running, even the police at the scene did not know what to do.

After a hard shove in her shoulder, Anthea came to her senses and began to run from the horror that surrounded her. These creatures were all around, no way she turned could she see an escape. Adrenaline was coursing through her veins as she ran. She felt liquid sliding down her face, and realized she was somehow hit with debris. The blood was making it hard for her to see, so she crouched down next to a car that had been overturned. She ripped her right sleeve, and used it to compress the wound on her head. She was so out of it that she didn't see the little boy hiding behind the car with her.

The little boy looked at her and asked, "Can you help me please? My mommy, I can't find her, she was with me, but then I lost her. Please help me find her, I'm scared!" The boy was in tears at this point, he couldn't be older than six.

Anthea stared at the boy in shock, surprised to see a boy alone. Her heart went out for the poor boy, and his mother who was probably searching for him. "Hey now, look at me. I will do everything I can to help you find your mommy. I just need you to calm down, and stay with me. It's not safe here, we need to keep moving and get away. Once we get away, we will find you mother. Until then, I need you to stick by my side that way I can keep you safe. Do you think you can do that for me?" Anthea knelt in front of the boy, as he nodded his head and she wiped the tears from his face.

"Great, that's exactly what I need to hear. Now, we are going to have to move away from this car. It won't keep us safe much longer. We are going to need to start running as soon as we leave, can you do this?

The little boy shook his head, as more tears descended his cheeks. "I can't do it, I'm scared. I don't want to leave!" He cried.

Anthea wiped away the tears, "I'm scared too, but I'm going to need you to be brave for me. I can't do this without you. Be brave for me, and I promise I will do everything in my power to make sure nothing happens to you. Do you hear me, I promise. Pinky promise." Anthea held out her pinky to the little boy.

The boy wrapped his small pinky around hers and nodded. Anthea smiled as best as she could, "That's exactly what I need to hear. You are a brave boy. Now, my name is Anthea, can you tell me yours?"

"Eric, my name is Eric." The boy sniffed out.

"Okay Eric, on the count of three we are going to move out from behind here and start running. I want you to keep you head down, and keep ahold of my hand. Can you do that for me?"

Eric looked up at Anthea and nodded his head. Anthea smiled, "Okay, on the count of three. One, two, three!" Anthea took off running, while holding Eric's hand. They raced down the streets, trying to move away from the destruction. As they were running they heard a woman shout, "ERIC! ERIC COME HERE!"

"MOMMY!" Eric took off across the road trying to reach his mother, dragging Anthea with him.

As they were running to reach Eric's mother, Anthea was hit by something on her left side causing her and Eric to fall down on the road. Her entire left side was engulfed in pain, she could barely breath through the pain. She looked up and saw that it was one the creatures that knocked them down. Anthea lost control of every muscle in her body, she was paralyzed with fear. She distantly heard a woman screaming, and could hear Eric crying beside her. The creature raised its gun, ready to shoot. She panicked and turned her back to the creature to cover Eric and use her body as a shield to prevent the creature from hurting Eric.

Anthea was waiting for the sound of the gun being fired, and the pain that would follow, but it never came. Instead she heard the sound of something metal being slammed against something. She turned around, all the while still covering Eric with her body, to see a man dressed in an suit which resembled the American flag fighting the creature with a shield. She saw the man fighting the creature, and turned to push Eric up off the road with her good arm and yelled for him to run for his mother, "Go! Go run towards your mother as fast as you can, don't stop, just keep running till you reach her."

She watched as Eric ran towards his mother, and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw him make it to her. She turned around and saw the man take care of the creature. The man then turned towards her, "Ma'am are you okay, are you injured?"

Anthea gasped out, "I'm fine, bruised but fine." She tried to stand up, but stopped gasping in pain.

"Not as fine as you think, here let me help you." The man said as he reached towards her right arm to help her stand up.

"You're right, maybe more than a little bruised up." She replied, but the man wasn't paying attention. He was staring at the arm he was holding, directly at her soul mark. She tried to pull away, but he held tight. Moving his gaze to meet hers.

"I need you to run as fast as you can, and get away from here. When this is over, get to the nearest hospital and have them check over you. I'm needed here, but I'll find you when this is all over." He stared directly in her eyes, as he rubbed his thumb over her soul mark. He then let go of her and ran straight into the heart of the battle.

Anthea stood in shock for a moment longer, until she gained control back of her body and ran.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:** I do not own anything from Marvel. Only the OC characters.

 **CHAPTER 2**

Anthea stared at the TV screen in her apartment in shock. Before today, seeing a billionaire fly around in a metal suit would be at the top of her most unexpected list. Now, the confirmation that aliens are real took that place. Aliens are real, and invaded the city. The Norse god Thor is real, as is his brother Loki. A team of superhero composed of one said god, two assassins, the hulk, a super soldier from the 40's, and said previous mentioned billionaire. It was hard for her to wrap her mind around everything that was happening. Not only about the new superheroes and aliens, but also the destruction that occurred in the city. The destruction that occurred in Manhattan was hard to truly grasp.

Anthea felt an immense amount of relief that Erica insisted they move into Brooklyn. Erica's family live in Manhattan, and she refused to live too close to them. The relief subsided some when she thought about Erica's family, she desperately hoped they were okay.

While she was thinking about Erica's family, Erica came running through the door. "Thea! Thea, are you here? Are you okay?" Her eyes roved over Anthea's form, checking for injuries.

Anthea was sitting on the couch with an icepack against her ribs, and her forehead bandaged up with their shared cat Dexter curled up at her side. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm pretty sure my ribs are fractured on my left side, and I've got a gash on my forehead but I've taken care of it. Perks of being pre-med, we can skip unnecessary trips to the hospital. I also figured I could use you as my personal nurse." Anthea joked.

"Funny, you are so funny. I'm so amused, and not in the least concerned now that you've self-diagnosed and treated yourself. I also do not believe that I should be dragging your ass to the nearest hospital!" She finished with a slightly hysterical shout. The shouting caused Dex to wake up and stare at the two of them, before getting up and moving away.

The thought of going to the hospital made Anthea feel uneasy. She still couldn't forget the man's words from the street. The Captains words if the news was correct. She saw the way the man stared at her soul mark, and it unnerved her. She didn't want to risk him being able to find her at a hospital. "No, no I'm fine. Yes, I took a bad hit to the head, and I fully know that you will be able to take care of me in the case that I'm concussed. My ribs hurt like hell, but they're just fractured and I know how to take care of them. Please, Erica, I give you full permission to smother me and order me around so long as we stay here. There are people in those hospitals that need more attention than I do, I don't want to take up space."

"Fine, but I expect you to listen to every order I give you. Now, list off any symptoms you have." Erica said this all with an exasperated, but tired look on her face.

"Headache, nausea, slightly dizzy, and feel more tired that I have in a while." She listed off.

"Yup, definitely concussed. You'll be staying awake with me for the rest of the night." Erica's voice started to get more strained as she reached the end, until she finally broke down. "I thought I lost you Thea. The school evacuated us, helped get us to safety, but you weren't there. You were wandering around in the middle of that entire mess, and I thought I lost you." She was sobbing by the time she got to the end.

Anthea felt all the pent up emotions of the day crashing down on her, and went over and hugged Erica. "I know, honestly, I don't know how I made it out. I've never been so terrified in my entire life. But I'm here, and I'm safe, and I'm not going anywhere. I wouldn't dare leave you alone with the rent for this apartment." She hiccupped at the end, trying to put a smile on Erica's face.

"You're an idiot," Erica laughed, "now let's open up the Ben and Jerry's and start a Disney movie marathon, where you are forced to stick by my side and I can pretend today didn't happen."

Thea laughed, "Course, whatever you want. Also you might want to consider tonight as a practice to work on the horrible bed side manner you have."

* * *

The next few weeks seemed like a blur. The destruction to the city was enormous, and repairs were approaching $200 billion. The news channels were constantly covering the aftermath, and their new favorite topic, the Avengers. Reporters were constantly found outside the new Avengers tower, trying to get interviews with the members. The news praised Tony Stark's donations to the repair of the city were praised on every channel. You could see coverage of the team around the tower helping clean up wreckage in the street. One of their favorite topics to cover was Captain America visiting hospitals, checking in on those injured during the Chitauri invasion.

It was the last news topic, that caused Anthea to feel apprehensive. It was easy to put two and two together and realize it was Captain America that saved her and the little boy Eric in the street. His words still haunted her at night. "I'll find you" she whispered to herself. She desperately tried to forget about him and his words, and changed the channel away from new concerning him. It was as she changed stations, that she stopped in shock. On the screen was Eric, and the little boy's mother. Interviewers had been stopping people on the streets and asking for experiences they had during the invasion. Anthea placed the remote down, and watched the interview with rapt attention.

The interview has just began, "So ma'am, you and your son were right here in the middle of the battle that occurred is that right?"

"Yes, my son and I were walking down the street when we saw the opening in the sky. People all around us began to panic and shove their way past us. During all the commotion my son and I were separated. People were rushing around us so fast, pushing and shoving, that I lost my hold on him." Eric's mother was crying at this point. "I was so scared that I lost my little boy, and one of those terrible creatures would get to him. I tried searching for him, but it was no use. Until I saw this woman with my son. She was holding his hand and trying to get away from everything. The relief that I felt was immeasurable. I didn't think I would every see my baby boy again. I called out for him and watched as my baby started running towards me, when the woman realized what was going on she started running my way. That was when one of those creatures attacked them. The creature swatted the woman in the side, sending both her and my son to the ground. The creature began to raise its gun towards them, and the woman then did something that I forever will be grateful for. She used her body and a shield for my little boy. Luckily it was this moment when Captain America came in and saved them both. As he was fighting the creature, the woman pushed my son towards me and told him to run. She is the reason, along with Captain America, that I have my boy back. I will forever be grateful to them both." Eric's mother was full on sobbing by the time she reached the end of her story.

The interview nodded her head sympathetically, and then turned towards Eric. "Is there anything you want to say to the Captain, or the woman that saved you?"

Eric looked into the camera then and said, "Thank you so much Captain, you are my hero!" he cheered. He then continued, "and thank you Anthea, I promised you I would be brave! And you kept you promise and helped me find my mommy!"

The interview smiled and continued talking to both Eric and his mother, but Anthea couldn't hear what was being said anymore. She kept repeated the words over and over again in her head. "Thank you Anthea" she repeated to herself. She stared down at her right arm. The inside of her forearm was covered in a mixture of marks. It was composed of three constellation, Pisces, Taurus and Cancer. Surrounding each constellation and connecting them together were small flowers. As she stared down at her mark, she felt herself begin to panic, "He'll know, he'll know my name now." She felt herself getting more and more worked up, and prayed that he would never see this interview.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:** I do not own anything from Marvel. Just the OC characters.

Also,

Thank you to all those who have reviewed, followed, or favorited this story. The positivity I received helped motivate me to push out two more chapters in the course of 24 hours. Also thank you to all those that have read this story so far. I hope that I can continue to keep your interest.

 **Chapter 3**

During the next few weeks things were starting to get back to normal. It had been two weeks since she saw the interview with Eric and his mother, and her life has thankfully remained quiet. Her initial panic turned out to be for nothing. Life continued on, the city was recovering and rebuilding, and life was returning to normal. Due to the invasion, her university was closed for the past couple weeks. Also because of this is the USMLE was postponed, giving both her and Erica more time to review. Which was why the spend most of their days and nights hidden in the back of the library.

"Come on Thea, I'm just saying we've been at this for weeks. We've been stuck in this library studying our assess off. We need a break, come out with me tonight. We both could use some time to cool down and relax." Erica reasoned with her.

"Not tonight Erica, you don't want me tagging along. Even if I went out with you tonight, I wouldn't be able to focus on the night. My mind is going crazy trying to relearn the past two years. The levels of stress and anxiety I feel right now would just prevent me from being able to calm down and enjoy myself. I won't be able to stop until after this damn examination is over." Anthea sighed out.

"I swear, you honestly make me so worried around exam time. You are practically studying yourself into an early grave. When was the last time you actually sat down and ate a meal?"

"I grabbed a sandwich for lunch, and ate some almonds." She listed off, "honestly I just forgot to eat."

"Thea, you need to stop. The past couple weeks have been a routine of gym, class, study. You've been getting back to the apartment late, and I know you're barely sleeping. I know you won't come out with me tonight, but as soon as we kick this exams ass we are going to take a week off and celebrate. Just the two of us, and we are going to take a mini vacation with the congratulation money my parents give me."

Anthea knew better than to try and talk her way out of it. She also knew that she was taking things too hard the past few weeks. Between worrying about the examinations and about what the Captain said she had been having trouble sleeping. When she did manage to get to sleep she had flashbacks of the invasion. They always ended with the gun pointed at her, but with no one there to stop it. A break away from the city was exactly what she needed.

"Yeah, a mini vacation with just the two of us sounds perfect. Let's get away from the city. We could always head down to DC and visit Jacob and Clay." She same with a sly smile.

"No, no way in hell. Time spent with those two idiots will never be considered a vacation. Honestly, I don't know how you manage to be around those two. It's bad enough they crash at our apartment one weekend a month." She fumed.

Jacob and Clayton were Anthea's best friends during high school. The three of them were inseparable, and all three attended NYU for undergrad. Clayton moved to DC after graduation, after he got accepted into a pharmacy school in DC. Jacob followed Clayton to DC, and is in his last year of his master's program in advertising. The three still meet up for one weekend every month.

"Fine, fine I was just joking anyways. The thought of those two always riles you up." She smiled. "Just me and you far away from this city."

"Deal, now with that decided I'm going to go and enjoy the rest of my night. Don't wait up for me." She finished with a wink.

"Should I fall asleep with headphones on tonight? You know the walls are thin." Anthea laughed as Erica threw a book toward her head.

* * *

Anthea stayed at the library for a couple more hours, before she realized how late it had gotten. The library was closing in 10 minutes, so she started packing her bag up. She waved goodnight to the librarian as she passed, and left the library and started walking home. She only lived 15 minutes away from the library, but recently she had been having a rough time with the walk.

Ever since the invasion, she has begun to feel uncomfortable while alone or when surrounded by large groups of people. With the invasion demonstrating how dangerous the world could actually be, and how close she came to dying, she begun to be more paranoid. She constantly felt as if there were eyes watching her every move, and she became suspicious of people who passed. It was not just when she was alone, but also when she was in large crowds of people. She hated how she felt, and had been overdoing it at the gym every day to try and stop feeling so defenseless.

She turned down the next street and froze, there was a man standing at the end of the block. Anthea weighed her option, considered turning around and just walking down just walking one more block down and then cutting across the street, but stopped herself. She was tired of feeling so paranoid. So with that though, she began walking down the street. She got her phone out to send Erica a message, saying that she was on her way home. She also wanted to keep it close in case she needed to make any emergency call. As she was approaching the end of the block she realized that the man was watching her.

She held on tighter to her, and opened up the Erica's contact in case she needed to make a call fast. She approached where the man was standing, and walked past at a faster pace. And then she continued on. The man stayed where he was. He did not attempt to follow her, nor harm her in any way. Anthea started to feel completely ridiculous and angry with herself. The rest of the walk to her apartment went by fast, and she headed straight to bed hoping to get a few hours of sleep.

* * *

A few hours later Anthea woke up gasping for air. The nightmare continued to prevent her from being able to sleep. She got out of bed, knowing she would be unable to get back to sleep. She checked her phone and saw that it was 4:00 A.M. Instead of sitting at the apartment waiting for Erica to wake up, she decided to head into the gym earlier than usual. As she was getting ready she looked at herself in the mirror. She looked paler than normal, which made the dark circles under her eyes stand our more noticeably. Her brown eyes looked dull, and her brown hair appear dull and flat as well. She splashed some water onto her face, and grabbed her bag.

She left the apartment and started walking to the gym. Although she had begun to hate her walks home, she loved walking early in the morning before most people were out of bed. It was relaxing to walk without a care in the world, knowing you were the only one out on the street. Once she made it to the gym, she started her normal routine. She went harder than she normally would. She ran longer and faster, with thoughts of improving her edurance so she could outrunning whoever was chasing her. She pushed herself harder while working her arms, determined to be strong enough to defend herself from an attack. She continued to push herself until her entire body ached. By the time she finished, she was exhausted. It was still early in the morning, and she considered taking a nap when she made it back home.

As she was leaving the gym she accidentally bumped into someone. She had been reaching into her bag, and was not paying attention to what was going on in front of her. The man she ran into immediately grabbed onto her arms to help steady her.

"I'm so sorry sir, I wasn't watching where I was," and then she stopped. She stopped as soon as she looked up into the man's face. His blue eyes looked so familiar, and he was staring at her face with an intense look. "I'm sorry for running into you sir, I'll be on my way." She tried to move past him, but the man held on to her right arm.

"Anthea, I think we need to talk." The man said, as his hand slid down her arm and his thumb rubbed her soul mark.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note:** I do not own anything from Marvel. Only the OC Characters.

Also, slight changes have been made in Chapter 1. A brief background on Anthea and Erica's friendship. Also, some grammatical changes have been made to each chapter.

 **Chapter 4**

Anthea felt as if blood had turned to ice. She stared at the man in front of her. She could make out the resemblance between the man in front of her, and the man from the invasion. They both had these bright blue eyes, with the slightest tinge of green. The man towered over her by at least a foot, putting him around 6'2". The man had wide shoulders, and looked as if he was made of muscles. The man in front of her was Captain America, and she felt herself begin to panic and tried to move away. "I'm sorry sir, I'm not sure how you know me but I would appreciate if you let me go. I need to go. Please, let me go." She pleaded as she attempted to break free from his grip.

The man immediate let her go, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. Anthea, we need to talk though, please don't walk away. I spent weeks trying to find you, I search every hospital around looking for you. It wasn't until I saw an interview with the little boy that you were with that I was able to even learn your name. A name I've been waiting for too many years to learn. I've dreamt many time of hearing your name pass your lips." The man was standing in front of her, watching her with an intense look. He looked as if he was holding himself back from placing his hands on her. "When I saw you, during the invasion, I've never felt so much relief and joy. Only to be immediately turn to terror thinking of the danger you were in, and how close I came to losing you before I even got a chance to meet you, to introduce myself." The man looked in pain as his finished his last sentence. "Please, all I'm asking is for a moment of your time. I just want to talk to you, I've been planning this meeting for the past two weeks and it's feels as if everything I've planned is spinning out of my control. I've finally found you, like I promised."

Anthea felt as if her throat was constricting. She couldn't form and words, and felt herself struggling to breath properly. Despite this, she felt herself reaching out to his right arm. She needed to know, she had to know if he really was her match. Needed to see it with her own two eyes. He immediately understood what she wanted, and he rolled up his sleeve. Anthea stared in shock at the identical tattoo that this man shared with her. She felt herself tracing over the constellations, the Taurus that stood her birthdate.

The captain watched her intently as she gazed at his mark. She felt him tense slightly as she traced her mark. "It was the your constellation that helped me find you. When I was unable to find you at the hospital, I tried having Tony search for you. Everyone in the city with a Taurus for a zodiac sign and fit your description. I was determined to find you even if I had to go through each name. Luckily the interview help narrow it down. I always wondered about the flowers. Your name though, it means flower." He smiled at her as he finished.

She took in everything he said, but stopped when she realized something. "How did you know the Taurus was my zodiac? Wait how long have you known about me?"

"I've known for about two weeks now, I've tried to approach you multiple times. It's just never felt right, never a good enough time. Finally today I just couldn't take it anymore, I had to speak with you."

"I've felt as if I've been being watched for the past two weeks, have you been spying on me?" Her voice began to sharpen, as the uncomfortable feeling she's had recently began to make sense.

"Spying isn't the word I would use." He tried to reason, while rubbing the back of his neck. "Look you have to understand, the last time I saw you, you were about to be shot. We were in the middle of an alien invasion. You were hurt as well. At first I needed to make sure you were alright, that you had been treated. I tried to approach you the first night, but I couldn't. Days passed and every opportunity never seemed right." He continued, trying to talking her down from the anger he could see in her eyes. "As for the zodiac, I already know the last member of our triad. He was my best friend, our soulbond was platonic." His eyes had fallen downcast, "He um, unfortunately, didn't make it through the war. He always wanted to meet you, use to say that it's what helped him through the war. Knowing that one day he would get to meet you."

Anthea immediately took a step back and dropped his arm as if it had burned her. Although she was never truly open to the idea of the universe deciding her perfect match, it still was a shock to know that one said match was dead. That she never would meet the other with the same mark bared on their arm. Anthea looked at him then, "I'm sorry to hear that, I'm sorry your loss. I may never be able to understand how hard that must have been for you, but I've seen first-hand what the loss of a match can do to someone." She did reach out for him them. Placed a hand on his arm.

Anthea was aware how devastating it could be to lose a match. While her parents relationship could never be classified as healthy, it devastated her father when her mother died. Her father became a shell of the man he used to be, and relied on alcohol to fill the hole her mother left. Anthea lost both of her parents the day her mother died.

Anthea felt as the Captain placed his hand under her chin. "Hey now, I'm sorry I brought this up so suddenly. I shouldn't have brought it up so soon. It was stupid of me. I am sorry though, that Bucky never had a chance to meet you, and that you never had a chance to meet him. He was an amazing man, and he would have loved you. I know he already loved the thought of you, of having a dame who was his perfect match." He smiled at her as he finished.

The last comment brought Anthea back to the reality of the situation. She had gone so long trying to avoid the possibility of ever meeting her match. She dedicated herself to her studies and friends, and enjoyed her life to the fullest. She watched her mother's life be dictated by her father growing up. They were great for each other at first, they were perfect for one another. But things changed, after the death of her baby brother, her father changed. He became a man who abused the ones he used to love. He began dictating her mother's life. He made her quit her job, prevented her from being with her friends, and turned her life into a mockery of what it once was. Anthea saw the appeal of finding your matched, but she saw firsthand how it could go wrong. She was terrified of losing who she was, becoming a shell of who she once was. She was afraid to give someone the power that her father had over her mother. She was afraid to place her trust into someone who could just throw it away. She was afraid to be hurt.

"Darling, are you still with me? Where did you go?" He smiled when she focused back on him.

"You said you wanted to talk, I agree. We need to talk. I don't want this to be more than a platonic soulbond." She said as she stepped away from him.

"Wait, darling, what are you saying? I've waiting so long to meet you, and you don't want to even give this a shot."

"Stop! Please, stop calling me 'darling' Captain. You don't know me, and I don't know you." Anthea began backing away farther away.

"Steve, my name is Steve Rogers. Anthea, I want to know you. I want to know everything there is to know about you, and I want you to know me. All I want is a chance, a chance to know you." He pleaded at the end, reaching one arm out for her.

"I'm sorry Steve, I can't be the person you want me to be. You deserve more than what I can give you. I can't give you what you want. The most I can give you is a platonic soulbond." Anthea looked up into Steve's eyes. For weeks she has felt so exhausted, both mentally and physically. Meeting her matched, and the emotional rollercoaster it brought on were becoming too much. She could see that Steve wanted to fight her on this.

Steve finally sighed, "I'll respect you wishes, if all you can offer me is a platonic soulbond, then I will take it and I will be the best friend you could ever ask for. I will take whatever you are willing to give me, I've waited too long to have you in my life. I will be whatever you want me to be, just let me stay part of your life, that's all I ask."

Anthea stared at Steve in shock. She didn't expect such a response from him. She expected anger, for him to yell and/or argue. However, that's not what he did. He respected her choice, and agreed to be her friend. Despite knowing that they were meant for more. "I... Yes, Steve, I would like that very much. I'd like for you to be a part of my life, but all I want is a friend."

"Then a friend is what I shall be." Steve smiled, but there was still a sad look in his eyes. "Now, as your friend I believe it is my duty to walk you home. And before you say no, just know that my mother taught me how to respect a lady. So it's physically impossible for me to allow you to walk home alone." He smirked at her as he approached. "So, lead the way?"

Anthea laughed, "Fine Steve, heaven forbid you go against your mothers lessons. No matter how old fashion they are. Better be careful, your age is showing."


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note:** I do not own anything of Marvels. Only the OC characters.

As always, thank you so much to all those have continued reading this story.

 **Chapter 5**

Having Steve in her life was easy. He fell into the role of friend faster than she believed possible. It wasn't awkward like she believed it would be at first, it just felt natural. As if he had been a part of her life for much longer than the few weeks they knew one another. They began to fall into a routine. Every morning they would meet up for a run, and then grab breakfast after. They spent there mornings together before parting for the day. They would also try and meet up at least 2-3 times during the week at night.

The last week however had unfortunately been busy for Anthea, preventing her from being able to see Steve outside of their morning runs. The USMLE was tomorrow, and she'd spent every spare minute she had at the library holed up. She was walking home when she noticed someone waiting outside her apartment building.

"Steve?" Anthea called out, grabbing his attention. He was leaded up against the building with his arms behind his back. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Thea! I came to wish you luck on your exam tomorrow." He pulled his hands out from behind his back, revealing a bouquet of sunflowers. "I'm going out of town tomorrow, and I knew I wouldn't be able to see you. So I wanted to make sure to stop by and wish you luck. As well as an early congratulation, as I know you are going to do amazing tomorrow. Not a single doubt in my mind." He smiled at her as he handed her the flowers.

Anthea smiled to herself, "Thank you Steve, I really appreciate this. I've missed seeing you, and definitely needed this tonight." She brought the flowers up to her nose smelling them.

"The woman I bought them from, she said the sunflower is supposed to bring you good luck. I thought it was fitting, plus I find it hard to look at a sunflower and not smile. I feel the same when I'm around you."

She laughed and them smirked at him, "I'd watch myself if I were you Rogers, flattery will get you nowhere."

He gave her a smirk, "Anywhere with you is enough. Speaking about being with you," he said, giving her a pointed look while raising his eyebrows, "I should be back in two days, and I was wondering if you'd like to go spend the day together. You know, to celebrate you being one step closer to becoming a doctor."

Anthea smiled, the idea of spending an entire day with Steve was tempting, however she remembered her plans with Erica. "As much as I would love to spend the day with you, I'm afraid I can't." She looked up at him then, seeing the disappointment in his eyes. "I promised Erica a few weeks back that after we finished the examination we would get away from New York for a bit. Go on a vacation, just the two of us." She said with an apologetic smile on her face.

"Ah I understand, how about after you get back? I'll steal you away for a day, somewhere Erica won't be able to find us." He joked.

Erica had become slightly jealous of Steve's presence in her life. Erica was used to it just being the two of them. She was an only child growing up, and her parents weren't around often. Although she would never admit it, she was worried that Anthea would forget about her and leave her behind. It wasn't just with Steve, but also with Jacob and Clayton. She was worried about being abandoned.

"She doesn't mean any harm by it, she just doesn't want to be left behind. She had a rough childhood. But I think she will be okay with you stealing me away for the day. Especially since we are getting away for a week."

Steve smiled, "Good, anyways, I'll get out of your hair now. I know you probably want to get some rest before tomorrow." Steve moved forward and wrapped his arms around her in a hug. "Good luck tomorrow, and have a safe trip. I'll miss you while you're gone." He said into her hair.

Anthea wrapped her arms around Steve, "Thank you Steve, for everything. Believe it or not I think I might actually miss you as well. I'll be looking forward to seeing you when I get back." She smiled as she pulled away.

"Goodnight Thea." He began to walk away before, stopping when she called out to him.

"Steve!" She ran up to him, "Look, I don't know where it is you're going exactly or what you will be doing, but please be safe." She said looking up at him.

Steve smiled and placed a hand on her face, "Of course Thea, I wouldn't risk missing a day with you."

* * *

The day of the examination passed easily for both Erica and Anthea. "We're done! Our first boards are in the book, and now we just need to make it two more years and then we will be doctors!" Erica was practically beaming as she spoke.

"We've still got to wait on the results before we start celebrating."

"Thea, don't you even think of trying to ruin this for me right now. We've spent months preparing for this day, and I know for a fact that we both knocked it out of the park. Scores be damned. Now, let's go back to the apartment and finish packing. We are flying out on the redeye tonight."

"I'm sorry, I can't help it sometimes." She said sheepishly. "And I still can't believe your parents are flying us out to Hawaii, it's too much."

"Thea, how many times do I have to tell you, it's fine. Look they're loaded. If they want to spend a ridiculous amount of money on a vacation for us then fine. Especially when you consider that they couldn't even wish their own daughter a congratulations in person." She said looking down.

Anthea wrapped her arms around Erica. "Congratulations Erica! You are one step closer to becoming the greatest doctor the New York has ever seen."

Erica laughed and pushed her away. "Please, if anyone is going to be the greatest doctor in New York it's you." Erica walked ahead, but Anthea could see her discretely wiping her eye.

"Please, who ever said I wanted to stay here. We have the world at our feet." She joked. She looked over at Erica and saw her getting uncomfortable.

"Well, I figured since you found your match in America's Sweetheart you would stay here with him. You two seem to be getting awfully close."

"Hey, Steve is a friend. Yes, he is my match, but we agreed to keep things platonic. Steve may be a part of my life, but so are you. I wouldn't be here right now if it wasn't for you, you're my best friend Erica. Steve will never be able to change that, or get between us. It's you and me."

Erica stopped, and stared at her. "You mean that?"

"Of course, I would never let anyone come between us. You're stuck with me, remember?"

Erica came up to her and wrapped her arms around her, pulling away after a few minutes. "Ok, enough of all this emotional talk, let's go home and pack. We've got a beach with our names on it, with some hot guys waiting for us."

* * *

The vacation was much needed. After months of stressing over boards and the end of their second year, laying on the beach was exactly what they needed. They'd been gone for a week and were heading back tomorrow. They were laying on the beach when Erica turned to her.

"So I know I haven't been the most supportive of Steve's presence, and I promise I'll work on that, but how is that going? What's it like finding out your match is a super soldier from the 40s?

"It's different, hard to grasps honestly. I still can't wrap my mind around it completely. To be honest, most of the time I try not to think about Captain America. He's just Steve, an old fashioned guy who has more manners than all the guys in our class combined. He's unbelievably sweet and supportive, and is constantly trying to distract me when I get too caught up with work. He's... He's just Steve."  
Erica turned around fully, giving Anthea her full attention. "And 'just Steve' is just a friend? Because with the way you describe him, I'm wishing I had a 'friend' like that." She finished with a smirk on her face.

"Yes Erica, he's just a friend. I told him when we first met, and he respects that. I can't be more than a friend to him."

"Oh when you first met you say, so after he heroically saved you in the middle of the invasion? After he promised to find you? Or are you referring to the meeting you had, after he spent weeks trying to find you. Searching every damn hospital, which you definitely should have been in, to find you."

Anthea glared at her. "After, and like I said we are just friends. Oh, and since when did you decide to start pushing for me and Steve. You use to glare at him every time the three of us spent time together."

"And I told you that I'm a changed woman now. I've come to accept Steve into our lives and am now working on making you see reason. You have an extraordinarily attractive match, who happens to be a superhero, that looks at you like you are the only person that matters. I'm sorry, I'm just having a hard time understanding what's stopping you from."

Anthea sat up, and turned around and glared at Erica. "Look, having a match doesn't promise you happily ever after. I can't and won't just fall into a relationship with him on the basis that we were 'destined to be'. Because that's bullshit, and it's not true. I've seen first-hand out wrong 'destiny' can be."

"Then don't! Don't jump into a relationship with him! But all I'm saying is give the poor man a chance. If you want to be his friend, then that's great. But, all I'm saying is if you ever change your mind, give him a chance. I know how stubborn you can be. You could be madly in love with the poor guy, but still refuse to become anything more. Just because he's your match." Erica reached out to grab her hand. "You're family Thea, and I just want you to be happy. And if Steve makes you happy, then let yourself be happy. Even if its 5 years down the road. Just promise me, that if you ever do start having feelings for him, you'll give yourself the chance to be happy."

Anthea sighed, and squeezed Erica's hand. "Okay, I promise. If I change my mind about just being friends with him, I'll let him know and see where it goes."

"Okay good, now we have one night left in paradise and I plan on making the most of it. Starting with the tall, dark and handsome over there."


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note:** I do not own anything from Marvel. Only the OC characters.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for all of you who have continued to read this story. I appreciate every comment, follow, and favorite this story has received. Sorry for the long wait for this new chapter.

 **Chapter 6** :

As much as Anthea enjoyed her vacation, she was almost glad to be home. It was a relief to be back in her and Erica's apartment, and just back in the city in general. They got home the previous night, and they both immediately dropped down onto one of the couches. Both deciding to worry about unpacking tomorrow. Anthea was half convinced Erica was already asleep until she heard her talking. "So, now that we are back home, do you have any plans with our dear Captain?"

"You know you can call him Steve. Actually, please just start calling him only Steve. He always gets uncomfortable when you come up with your new names, starts getting twitchy." She sighed.

"Fine Steve, again I promised best behavior, but don't think I didn't notice you forgetting to answer my question."

"Steve mentioned spending a day together once I got back. Said he wanted to take me somewhere. I told him I would let him know when we made it home, so I'm sure he'll tell me about any plans."

Erica immediately sat up, "So you super attractive, hero match is taking you on a surprise getaway for the day?" she said while wiggling her eyebrows at her.

Anthea immediately threw one of the pillows on the couch at her head. "Erica I told you, just friends. Nothing more, please let it go. Also make sure not to make any comments like this around him."

"Fine, fine, but are you blushing?"

"ERICA!"

* * *

Eventually the two passed out in their beds exhausted. Anthea was currently trying to unpack when Erica burst in her room.

"Thea! You didn't tell me we were expecting a visit from the Captain this morning!" Erica whispered screamed.

"Huh? Steve's here, already?" she said looking up at Erica confused.

"Yes! Of course Steve is here, who else would I be talking about but you sexy match? Why didn't you tell me he was stopping by?"

Anthea stared at Erica for a minute trying to take in everything she was saying. Erica was currently throwing all her clothes that she just unpacked all over her room, muttering to herself the entire time. "Sorry, I forgot to mention it. Now would you stop throwing all my clothes around, I just unpacked them. What are you even doing?" she asked exasperated.

"Obviously I'm trying to find you an outfit, because you can't go meet your gorgeous match looking like that!" She gestured to her outfit, looking her up and down with a look of disapproval. "Honestly, we've been friends for 6 years now. You would think that living with me would have had some sort of positive impact on your wardrobe. Is that even your shirt?!"

Anthea looked down at herself. She was currently wearing a long sleeve NYU shirt that she probably stole from Jacob, and some loose fitting jeans. "Probably not, and I'm a big girl, I can dress myself. Now if you don't mind I'm going to go see what my **friend** Steve wants." She said, overstressing the word 'friend', as she walked out of her room.

She saw Steve standing in the living room, looking at the pictures on the wall with a smile on his face. She walked up to him and saw that he was looking at a picture of her graduation day. It was a picture with her, Erica, Clay, and Jacob all smiling in their graduation gowns. "That one is from graduation, NYU was probably happy to see us gone."

"Somehow I doubt that." He said as he turned to face her. When they were finally facing each other he smiled down at her, "Hey Doll."

She laughed, "Hey yourself."

Steve laughed and pulled her into a hug, "I've missed you Thea."

Anthea eventually pulled away from him, "You know, when you said you wanted to steal me away today, I didn't think you meant so early. It's 8:00, I haven't even had a chance to have any caffeine yet."

Steve just smiled down at her, "That was the plan, I plan on taking advantage of every moment on the day. Starting with breakfast, I wanted to take you out and show you the Brooklyn I grew up in. The Brooklyn that me and Bu.. The Brooklyn that I always wanted to show my match. That I always wanted to show you."

"Okay"

* * *

The day was perfect, beyond perfect. They got breakfast at a small diner, and then spent the day wandering around in Brooklyn. Steve pointed out buildings and landmarks that were familiar. When the passed the newer sections he explained what use to stand there. They kept walking until Steve stopped outside of a newer apartment building. Steve stared up at the building before turning to Anthea. "This is where I grew up, I lived here up until I went overseas. After my mother passed away, Buck came and moved in with me. Helped me keep the place running, and helped keep a roof over my head. I was so sick all the time, no one wanted to hire someone who looked like he was about to fall over dead with some illness." He trailed off laughing bitterly. "I always had Bucky though, he was the best friend I could have asked for."

Anthea reached out and grabbed his hand. "I'm glad you had him in your life, he sounded like he was a great man. Had to have been considering the positive impact he had on your life."

"You know, I was terrified when about my soul mark growing up. I was convinced that no dame would ever want a man who probably wouldn't live past 30. I was convinced that I would die before I ever had the chance to meet my match." Steve had a far off look on his face, and was back to staring at the building. "I was lucky that I had Bucky in my life, he wouldn't stand for any talk about that. Said that the dame that was our match would love us both equally, either that or she wasn't really meant to be our girl."

"This may not be how you imaged meeting your match, but I want you to know that I would have still like the 'pre-serum Steve'. The serum affected your physically, but from the stories you've told me you're still the guy who can't seem to keep himself out of trouble, only now you're slightly more capable of handling it." She joked, "and I really like being around 'Steve', not Captain America."

Steve looked down at her with a smile on his face, before it transformed into a smirk. He closed the space between them, with a mischievous look on his face. "What do you mean only slightly more capable? You don't think I can take care of myself?"

She looked up at him with a smirk on her face, "I don't know, I've seen how you eat. I think you may be letting yourself go. In fact, I bet I could take you on right now. It would be a piece of cake." Anthea laughed as she finished, raising her first up in a fighting stance.

Steve just smiled down at her as he looked at her raised fists. He brought his fist up to mirror hers, before charging at her and throwing her over his shoulder. "Still think you can take me?" He laughed as her spun her around.

"Steve! Steve, let me down!" Anthea laughed.

"I don't know if I can Thea. You hurt my feelings, I even think you tried calling me fat. I don't know if I can stand for such rudeness, I always did hate bullies. I'll just have to show you that I can still handle myself." Steve reach up and started ticking her sides, causing her to laugh uncontrollably.

She was nearly in tears when she was finally able to gasp out, "please Steve, I take it back. You're big and strong and can take care of yourself. Now please let me down!"

"Hmm.. I don't know if I can accept your apology, I mean, you didn't even mention about how handsome I am."

She just kept laughing and started beating on his back, "Steve!"

"Fine, fine I'll stop." Steve said as he started walking to a nearby park. He set her upright when he made it to a bench near the center of the park. It was getting pretty late, and the park was empty. Steve stayed standing in front of her as she sat down on the bench. He looked like he was caught up in his mind. Like he wanted to say something but couldn't find the words he was looking for.

"Steve?"

"I um.. I actually needed to talk to you about something. Since I woke up I've felt as if I don't have a place in this new world anymore. Everything has changed so much, and the world has moved on from what I've known. The last memory I had before waking up is crashing a plane into the Arctic Ocean. I was prepared to die, I thought was dead. I left one war, only to wake up in a world I no longer recognized, that faced an alien invasion. Now that the world is settling down, I'm finding it hard to find my place. Finding my purpose for even being here. My purpose when I woke up was to lead a team against a god, but now my team is going their separate ways. The first few weeks after the invasion, I spent my time trying to finding my way to you. And now, I've found you, and I have you in my life, but I'm still missing a purpose. I'm a soldier out of time, and right now you're the only thing keeping me grounded. But you've got a life, you've got dreams, goals, ambitions. I just feel like I should be doing more."

Anthea reached up and grabbed Steve's hand, pulling him down towards the bench beside her. He allowed himself to be pulled down, but was avoiding looking at her. She turned to face him, squeezing his hand to get his attention. "Steve, what is it you want to do? What is it you're having a hard time telling me? I know there is something more you are not saying. You can tell me anything Steve, you can talk to me."

Steve turned and looked at her, finally meeting her eye. He grasped both of her hands more firmly. "Fury offered me a place at SHIELD, I would be an active agents."

Anthea looked at him a little shocked. With the way Steve was talking she was expecting something else. She was a bit confused as to what he had against the idea. "Steve that's great, I don't understand why you are seeming so hesitant to tell me this."

"The position Fury offered me is in D.C., I'd have to move away from the city. He gave me to the end of the week to decide what I wanted to do."

"What's holding you back from saying yes? Because from where I'm standing, this is exactly what you're looking for. So what's holding you back?"

Steve looked up at her in surprise, not expecting her response. He pulled back a little and his eyes looked they had a bit of hurt in them. "I don't want to leave you Thea, I've waited so long to have you in my life. Now that you are finally here, right in front of me, I'm having to decide whether or not to leave you."

Anthea moved to place her hands on the sides of her face, forcing him to look at her. "Steve honey, you don't have to choose. There isn't even a choice. I'm always going to be here, no matter where you go. Besides, D.C. is only four and a half hours away. That's nothing, I can easily make that trip a couple times a month. I already go down to the D.C. area one weekend out of the month to visit friends now. You have nothing to be worried about, you never will have to choose. I'm always going to be here for you, no matter the distance. There are plenty of ways for us to stay in contact while we are a part. Take the offer Steve."

He looked at her as if he was in shock. As if he couldn't believe what she was saying. Finally a small smile appeared on his face. "You mean that? You'd be okay if I moved to D.C. to work for SHIELD?" He asked.

"Of course Steve, besides, I only have two more years left of medical school. Like I said, I already have friends in the D.C. and I'm familiar with the area. I was actually considering moving there myself during my residency after I graduate."

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For just being you, for just being so perfect. You know just what to say to help me, and I will forever be grateful to have you in my life. You mean the world to me Thea. Now come on, I think we've had enough excitement, lets head back." Steve stood up, and extended his hand for her to take.

"Okay."


	7. Chapter 7

**Authors Note: I do not own anything of Marvels. Only the OC characters**

 **The timeline of the story is going to face a jump of a few years. I do plan on going back and writing some short one shots of events that took place over the two years. Any ideas or recommendations of what anyone wants to see are welcome. As always, thank you for all the reviews, favorites, and follows. And thank you to everyone who has continued to read this story.**

Chapter 7

2 Years Later

Anthea stared up at the building that she spent the last four years studying at. She was still in her graduation gown, having disappeared after the ceremony was over. She spent the last eight years in the city, and it was hard to believe that she would be leaving soon. That she would be leaving the city behind. All the memories made throughout the year. It was hard to imaging moving on to the next stage of her life, to finally be done with med school. To say she was terrified about what is to come next would be an understatement, scared of what the change might bring. She comforted herself in at least knowing she would have her friends, her true family with her as she moved on.

"You know, I'm pretty sure after the ceremony it's a common practice to allow your friends and family a chance to congratulate you. To tell you how proud they are of everything you've accomplished. To tell you what an absolute amazing doctor you will be. That they do not have a single doubt that you will succeed in whatever you set your mind and heart to. For them to also wish you luck, even though they know you don't truly need it, but it will make you smile. For them to give you flowers, and make you suffer through hundreds of pictures. For them to tell you how much they love you."

Anthea felt a smile form as soon as she heard his voice, it has been awhile since he was able to come visit. He'd been given more mission as of late, which prevented him from being able to make the trip to the city. Her schedule wasn't any better, with the end of medical school approaching and the boards that came with it. It felt good to finally have him back, especially after he told her that he wouldn't be able to make it. She felt herself relax, all the pent up stress she had slowly going away.

"Please, you try sitting through a ceremony in these stuffy robes and not wanting a breath of fresh air afterwards." She said, and then finally turned around to face Steve. He was dressed in navy suit, which complimented the dress she was wearing. She was sure that it wasn't a coincidence, but rather that Erica hand in it. He was also holding a beautiful bouquet filled with forget-me-nots, bells of Ireland, and jasmine. Her smile grew even bigger as she took them all in.

When Steve saw her looking at the flowers he began to close the distance between them, lifting the flowers up to her when he was close enough. "I was told they represent wishes of good luck, and of congratulation. I wanted you to have something special, something with meaning."

"They're beautiful Steve, and they were right, whoever told you. My mother was a florist, she used to sit me down and explain all the meanings behind all the flowers. Told me that there was always a way to express yourself through them, so long as you took the patients to learn." She felt herself reaching out and stroking the petals of the forget-me-nots. Looking up at Steve then to see him staring down at her with an intense look. She felt him pull her into a hug, and he bent over and whispered into her ear.

"Congratulations Thea, I'm so damn proud of you. You are going to be an amazing doctor, and I know you'll make a difference in this world. You've already had such a large impact on not only my life, but all of those who are lucky enough to have you in theirs."

Anthea held onto him even tighter for a moment, before pulling back. The past few weeks had been one big emotional rollercoaster, and with Steve here she could feel the wetness on her face. "Thanks Stevie, thank you for more than just this. You've always been this bright light in my life, and I can't imagine my life without you."

Steve just reached up and wiped the tears from her face. "You'll never have to, now come on. Let's head back, Erica will kill me if I keep you away much longer." He reached down and grabbed her hand, and as he was leading her she looked back down at the forget-me-nots and remembered the meaning her mother always told her.

Faithful Love.

* * *

Anthea walked around what was left of her and Erica's apartment. With everything packed in the back of the moving truck, the apartment felt empty. The apartment was a shell of what it once was, everything that made it home was gone. All the memories of the past 4 years were gone, packed away in the back of a truck. She felt a deep ache in her chest as she walked around what was once her home.

"It's sad, I know. Believe me I cried all night, barely got a wink of sleep. It's hard to imagine we are leaving this apartment and city behind. All the memories, but, we are opening up ourselves to the chance to make new memories. In a new city, surrounded by our friends. Despite some of those friends being questionable. And we still have each other, although it will be a new apartment, we will still be together. New York has been wonderful, but I'm looking forward to see what D.C. has to offer us. I already know of one big, strong amazing view that is waiting for us." By the time Anthea turned to look at Erica she caught her wiggling her eyebrows, and laughed.

"I know, but it doesn't make this any easier. This city was my home, more so than the one I grew up in. Also you can stop pretending, everyone knows that you and Jacob get along. We all know you guys are only pretending at this point."

"I refuse to acknowledge that, just as you failed to acknowledge my comment on big, strong and handsome. Wonder why is that?"

"You know I'm excited to see Steve, it will be nice being closer to him. I've missed him a lot, I hate that he wasn't able to stay longer than graduation."

Erica sighed, "I know Thea, I was sad to see him go as well, he's an amazing guy and a great friend. But let's be honest, him being a great friend isn't why you're so sad. When are you going to admit to yourself that you're in love with him? And don't lie to me, you're my sister, I know you just as good, if not better, than you know yourself. What are you afraid of, we both know the guy is head over heels in love with you too."

Anthea felt all the emotion of the day come crashing down on her. "I'm afraid of how I feel, how goddamn much he means to me! I love him Erica, but I'm afraid to let him love me. I'm messed up, I grew up with a twisted look on love, and I'm worried that I'm too messed up to love him properly. I can't lose him Erica."

Erica grabbed her hands, pulling harshly. She had an fierce look on her face as she spoke. "Thea, don't you dare say that you are messed up. You grew up with a fucked up father who abused your mother, his own fucking match. You had to watch that man abuse your mother both mentally and physically, all the while drinking himself into an early grave. He's the messed up one Thea, not you. He wasted away his chance at having love and a family. Please, don't let him be the reason you prevent yourself from the chance."

"I'm scared Erica, I've never felt like this about someone. Steve means the world to me, what if I mess everything up?"

"Then you talk about it. You two will sit down and discuss all your fears, and you work it out together. You forget, not only do I know you, I also know Steve. Had to make sure he was good enough for my sister, that he would treat you the way you deserve. And honestly honey, I don't think you could ever mess up so badly to ever make him turn away from you. That guy looks at you like a man that has seen the sun for the first time. He brightens up everything you are around, believe me, I've seen how he looks at you. You two are perfect for each other, you've just been too stubborn to give him a chance to prove it to you. Thea, let yourself be happy. Let yourself be loved."

Anthea felt herself smile, and began to wipe the tears from her face. "You're right, I need to tell him how I feel. I need to stop living in fear, and let myself be happy. And Steve makes me happy, he makes me feel loved."

Erica came and wrapped her arms around her. "Good, I'm so happy that you're finally letting yourself be happy. I love you Thea, you deserve to be happy." Erica pulled away, wiping a stray tear from her own face. "Now let's get going, we've got a long ride to D.C. before we can start the next stage in our lives."

* * *

By the time they made it to the city, it was approaching noon. As a graduation present from Erica's parents, they somehow manage to find an apartment near the National Mall and paid the rent in full for a year. As they were pulling up the apartment, they saw two people leaning against the building. Anthea could easily recognize Steve, but she wasn't sure who the man was with him. By the time they stopped the car, Steve was opening the door and pulling Anthea into a hug.

"Thea! I'm so glad you're finally here. Two years of having you 4 hours away, was two years too much. Now that you are finally here, I not letting you out of my site for at least a few weeks."

Anthea laughed, "Steve! Let me down!" When he finally placed her on the ground she smiled up at him. "A few weeks?! Steve, we talked all the time and saw each other multiple times a month. You get a week at the most, after that I'll be starting my new job."

"I'll take a week then. Now let me introduce you to my friend, I figured since Jacob and Clay are both stuck at work, another set of hands to help you both unpack would be useful." He pulled her over to the guy that was still leaning against the apartment building with a smile on his face. "Thea, meet Sam Wilson. He is ex-military, and currently works with Veterans. Sam, this is my match Anthea. She just graduated medical school, and decided to complete her residency here in D.C."

Anthea extended her and out to Sam. "It's nice to meet you Sam, also nice to put a face to the name Steve speaks so highly about."

Sam laughed, "It's nice to meet you to Anthea, and believe me, I'm just glad you're finally here. Steve's been going crazy waiting for you to get here. It's also nice to meet the girl the girl he can't stop talking about."

Anthea felt herself blush as she looked over at Steve, whose cheeks were also a shade of red as well. "Please Sam, call me Thea."

Before Sam could reply, Erica called out from the driver's side of the truck. "Yeah, yeah, Steve, go on an introduce everyone except me. Remind me again why I supposedly like to be around you?"

Steve got even redder if possible, "Sorry Erica." He said bashfully.

"It's fine Steve, we all know how excited you get around Thea." She laughed, "Now, I'm Erica, it's a pleasure to meet you handsome."

"Sam, pleasures all mine beautiful." He said as he took her hand.

Anthea smiled at the scene she saw. She could easily see herself finding a friend in Sam. Also if the blush on Erica's cheeks were anything to go by, she thought Erica might find it even easier. She looked over and saw Steve staring at her, with a small smile on his face, and she felt a small smile of her own forming on her face. Looking at him, the decision to make this her new home became so much easier.


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note:** I do not own anything of Marvels. Only the OC characters.

Sorry for the disappearance act. Life has been crazy busy, and it was a struggle to find time to write.

 **Chapter 8**

Life in D.C. was beginning to fall into a routine. The majority of Anthea's time was spent at the hospital, but every third day or so she would get some time off. She tried to dedicate that time to spend with her friends, but even that was becoming a challenge. She was able to spend time with Erica when they were both working a shift at the hospital, but for the most part her friends were hard to track down. Clay was hard to find outside of the pharmacy he worked at, and Jacob was usually busy till the evening. Steve was also hard to track down, it seems like despite having an apartment in the D.C. area, he never actually spent time in the area. He was constantly away on missions, to the point where even he was getting frustrated. But it was not just the missions that were bothering him, but also the people he was working with at the agency. He confided in her once that he felt as if he couldn't trust any of the people he works with, that there is constantly some secret agenda that they are working on. All the while keeping him in the dark. The last mission had really sent him over the edge.

Today however, they were both free from their obligations. Steve sent her a short message saying he just had to report on his mission and then he would be over. Anthea was making breakfast when she heard the knock on the door.

"Come in!" she shouted as she began to move the food off of the stove. "I just finished breakfast, coffee?" She turned around when she didn't get a response from Steve. He was leaning against the counter, and looked completely drained. "Steve?"

He finally looked up once she called his name, attempting to fake a smile. "Hey, smells good in here. Coffee would be great, thank you."

Anthea could obviously tell that something was not right. Something happened on his mission last night. She could tell from his message earlier that something was wrong, but this was a whole new level. She turned away from him to pour him so coffee, and then grabbed a plate and set both down in front of him. Suddenly losing her own appetite she could only stomach the coffee in her hand. "Steve, what's wrong?"

He sighed, as he turned down to pick at his food. "It's nothing Thea, nothing for you to worry about."

Anthea could feel herself starting to get worked up, "Nothing?! You expect me to believe this is nothing? Steve, look at yourself! How do you expect me not to worry? I'm worried about you!"

Steve looked up, annoyed, "Damn it Thea, this just doesn't concern you! This isn't something you can help, let alone even know about! It's classified! I can't talk to you about this, you're just a civilian. You wouldn't understand, hell I don't even understand. This feels like everything I've spent my life trying to fight against."

Anthea felt herself explode, "Just a civilian?! You do understand that even though I may be 'just a civilian,' it's us civilians that usually end up getting hurt by decisions made for us. That we don't even deserve the right to know about. Look at New York, we received no warning. Nothing to let us know that the world isn't safe, and look how many 'civilians' were harmed by that decision. Oh and just so you know, your life fucking concerns me. I care about you Steve, you're my match for fucks sake."

"Just forget about it Thea! I don't see why you're so concerned, it's not like you even wanted a match." Steve spat out.

Anthea flinched back, she felt as if he physically dealt her a blow. She tried to hide the hurt on her face, but she knew she obviously didn't do a good enough job. She could see the regret on his face. "Thea, I'm.."

Anthea cut him off, "Stop! Just stop. Look, I'm going to head out. Before we both say more. Help yourself to finishing your breakfast and coffee."

Steve started to get up, "Anthea, please."

Anthea just raised her hand, silently asking her to stop. "Steve I can't, not right now. I'm just going to go on a walk. We can talk about this later tonight, but I just can't do this right now."

As she left the apartment, she could have sworn she heard the sound of glass breaking.

* * *

Taking the day to herself helped with clearing her mind. She was still sitting in the same spot she had been hours before. The sun had set awhile back, and it was getting past a safe time to be out in the park. Anthea felt as if she couldn't move though, she kept replaying her argument with Steve today. But not just todays argument, because what was said today had been building up over months. They both had just been tiptoeing around the subject.

For the past few months Anthea had watched as Steve went on mission after mission. Steve would be gone for days, or weeks at a time. And Anthea waited, and worried. She never knew where he was, what he was doing, if he was even safe. If he was even alive for that matter. And then he would come back, and she would watch as he pretended. As they both pretended that he was just Steve Rogers. Just her friend from Brooklyn, nothing more. And while that is who he is to Anthea, he's Captain America to the rest of the world. And Captain America has the world to look after and protect. And she is just one person living in that world, and has no claim to Captain America. He was right, she didn't understand. And she wasn't sure she ever could understand, because she could never be a part of that side of his life. As much as he likes to pretended, he's not two different people. They are the same person, and she will never be able to relate to his other persona.

She was interrupted from her thoughts from her phone ringing. She looked down to see a picture of Steve lightening up her screen. She stared at it for a few seconds, before deciding to answer.

"Hello?"

"Anthea!" Steve practically shouted, she could hear relief in his voice. She could hear him breathing heavily on the other side of the phone, he sounded almost frantic. "Anthea, where are you? Please tell me you are home?" he rushed through both questions.

Anthea instantly became on edge from the tone of his voice. "No, I'm not home. I'm at the park near the apartment. Steve what's going on, you are making me nervous."

She could hear him sigh heavily when she told him she wasn't home. "Thea I can't explain much right now, I just need you to trust me. I need you to get home as fast as possible, and lock all the doors. It's not safe to be out right now. There is a man, a very dangerous man out not far from where you are. Promise me that you will head home now, avoid anyone suspicious. Keep me on the line as well."

Anthea felt a chill run down her spine. Whoever this man was had him on edge, and for Steve to be worried, the man was more than dangerous. She could feel her breathing becoming heavy, and she felt as if she was struggling to breath. She felt her mind wandering to New York two years ago, and she felt that terror enveloping her.

"Anthea!" Steve shouted, trying to get her attention. It immediately snapped her out of her trance, and forced herself to get up from the bench she'd occupied for most of the day.

"Yes! Yes, I'm here. I'm leaving right now. Steve where are you?" She attempted to push down her panic as much as she could, but even she could hear it in her voice.

"I'm on my way to the hospital. This man took down someone from my agency, he's in surgery right now. I just need you to make it home, it's the safest place for you right now."

"Are you hurt? Please tell me you are okay? Did you fight this man?" She could feel herself getting hysterical.

"No, I'm not hurt. I did engage the man, but I'm fine. Where are you now, are you almost home?"

"Yes, I just got to my building. I'm on my way up to the apartment now. I promise, I'll triple check that all my windows and doors are locked. Steve, I'm scared though. Do you think this man will come after you next?" She just reached her apartment, and attempted to unlock her door. Her hands were shaking so bad. She finally got inside, locking the door immediately. She felt herself slide down the door and just sat on the floor, attempting to control her breathing.

"Look you don't have anything to be scared about. I'm at the hospital now, but I promise I will head over there as soon as I can. I don't know anything about this man, or who he may target next. I promise to keep you safe though, and please don't worry about me. I'm just glad you made it back." She could hear how tired he was in his voice. Anthea almost felt like laughing when he told her not to worry about him, she's constantly worried about him.

"If you think after the past 20 minutes I'm not going to worry about you, then you're as stupid as..." She broke off as she looked up. She stared in shock, almost like she couldn't believe what she was seeing. There sitting in a chair in her living room was a man. He was dressed entirely in black, in some sort of combat gear. He was wearing a mask to cover his face, that almost resembled a muzzle. As she stared at him she noticed the most notable thing about him was his arm, it was entirely made of metal. She looked back up to his face, and saw a pair of light blue eyes looking at her. Looking through her. She felt herself start to panic as she saw him getting up. Distantly she could hear Steve screaming her name through the phone, but it was muffled. Almost as if she was underwater, she felt like she was as she could barely breath. The man approached her, finally stopping to crouch down in front of her. He reached out to her to grab her arm. He was gently as he held her arm, pulling her sleeve up so her soul mark was showing. She felt him trace the mark on her arm, before reaching up with his metal hand to remove his mask. She stared up at him, petrified to move.

She watched as he looked back down at her arm, tracing it lightly. Then he looked back up, and looked her straight in the eye. And then he spoke the one word that sent chills down her spine.

"Mine"


	9. Chapter 9

**Authors Note:** I do not own anything of Marvels

Sorry for not only disappearing, but also for the cliffhanger in the last chapter. Hopefully two updates in two days can make up for it. I want to thank everyone again who has commented, followed, or favorited this story. It truly means a lot, and gives me a lot of inspiration to keep writing.

 **Chapter 9**

Anthea stared back in shock, in complete disbelief of what he just said. If he noticed her shock, he didn't acknowledge it. Instead he just kept tracing her mark, a small smile playing at the corner of his mouth.

"They told me where to find you. Now that my mission is complete, we can be together." The man eyes seemed to brighten, and he smiled down at her. "I have waiting too long for this moment."

Anthea felt her breath catch in her throat. This man wasn't making any sense. From what the man was saying, there have been people watching her. Keeping track of where she lived, and possibly where she worked. What confused her the most was that this man thought he knew her, she thought he possibly had her confused with someone else. However, the man was holding on to her forearm with her soul mark on it, and he didn't look confused. He looked so sure of himself, like he really had been waiting for the moment they finally met. With that thought she could feel the panic rising in her again, "I..I don't understand, I. There has to be a mistake. I'm not who you think I am."

Anthea watched the man wearily, afraid of how he may react to her words. He surprised her however, by reaching his metal arm up to caress the side of her face. Anthea instantly froze as soon as the man placed his metal hand on her. With his hand placed on her, she could feel the slight shifting in his arm. Hear a mechanical whirling. She could only imagine the kind of damage this man could cause with his one arm alone. He spoke gently to her, as if he was trying to soother her. His metal thumb slid across her cheekbone, and she felt a shiver run through her. "There is no mistake Anthea, we are matched. You are mine, as I am yours. They have forced me to keep my distance from you, but no longer."

Anthea felt as if she couldn't breathe. She felt like her world was crashing down. She was never supposed to be in a situation like this. With an obviously dangerous man breaking into her apartment, only to tell her that they belong to one another. She had led a normal life for the majority of her life. She was just Anthea. All she wanted was to just lead a normal life, finish up her residency and become a doctor. Steve was the one that was supposed to have the unexpected life, not her. Steve's life could never be considered normal, but he kept her isolated from those parts of his life; and Anthea could pretend like Steve that they didn't exist. This man's words, however, could not be ignored. There was no pretending, this really was happening. But the man's words were still not making any sense. His words were impossible. "Please, there has to be some mistake. I already have one match, and my other match passed away a long time back. It's not possible for me to be yours."

Again, the man just gently smiled down at her. He removed his metal hand from her face, in order to bring it down to his arm that was still holding her. Anthea broke eye contact to watch what he was doing, an uneasy feeling settling in her stomach. She watched in disbelief as the man lifted the sleeve he was wearing to reveal her soul mark. Her soul mark, that was clearly visible on this man's forearm. She stared at the man's arm blankly, in a way not truly believing what she was seeing. It was simply impossible. Suddenly she reached for his arm, and began rubbing his mark. Trying to frantically rub away the proof that was on his arm. The man eventually reached out and placed his hand on tops of hers.

"I promise, it's real." He had a slight smirk on his face as he spoke.

"But that's not possible, Steve said.." Anthea looked up at the man in front of her. She looked past the man's long hair and stubble, and imagined the man with a clean shaven face and short hair. Steve had shown her pictures of Bucky before, and looking at the man in front of her, she could tell they were near identical. This man appeared to be Bucky Barnes, but it couldn't be possible. Steve told her he watched Bucky fall from the train, told her there was no way for a man to survive such a fall. Before she could lose herself in her thoughts anymore, she was broken out of it as she heard Steve yelling from her phone.

"ANTHEA! Anthea what's going on?! THEA!" Anthea stared down at her phone, realizing that her call with Steve was still connected. The man in front of her seemed to realize this too, as she saw the anger flash across his face. Suddenly, faster than she thought possible, she saw the man slam his metal fist down on her phone. The phone shattered into pieces. The man's fist coming down on her phone finally snapped her out of her trance, and caused her to retreat.

She kicked out at the man, while trying to escape from around where he was blocking her in. Her kick must have surprised the man, as he moved back to dodge and didn't immediately try to grab her. Anthea got to her feet and ran to her room. She slammed the door shut, locking it as fast as she could. She looked around her room, trying to come up with some sort of plan. Trying to find something to defend herself with. Anthea was barely holding it together, when she heard a gently knocking on her bedroom door.

"Anthea, open the door. It's time for us to leave, they expect us back." The man said calmly through the door.

Anthea could feel herself falling apart. She lost the only form of contact she had with Steve, and had no way to communicate with anyone what was happening to her. The man on the other side of that door was the man Steve warned her about, the man who sent someone from Steve's agency to the hospital. The man on the other side of her bedroom door was dangerous. And that same man was somehow her match. The match that fell from a train in World War II. The match that has been dead for 70 years, and would have been close to 100 if he were still alive. Steve had told her all of this and more, and Steve wouldn't lie to her about this. She could see the genuine heartbreak on his face every time he mentioned Bucky. Bucky Barnes was a hero, it doesn't make sense that his survival would be kept such a secret. Unless the people who found him, wanted it that way. No one from the allied side would have wanted that, so that meant that the people who found Bucky, the people who had him now, were not friends of the allies. Instead they were using a dead man to take out those who opposed them.

Anthea thought back on what he had told her so far. He kept mentioning a 'they.' 'They' told me where you were, 'they' forced me to keep my distance, 'they' are expecting us. Whoever this 'they' are, they have some kind of control over him. They also are the ones responsible for keeping him so young. They were the ones responsible for the man in the hospital.

Suddenly Anthea had an idea. She knew that she would never be able to overpower him, but she could warn Steve. The moment the phone was destroyed, Steve would have been on his way. Anthea knew that Bucky also was aware that Steve was on his way. Steve said he fought him earlier, so Bucky would have recognized the man on her phone screen. That caused her to pause, how did he not recognize Steve earlier. How did he not recognize his best friend, his match. None of this was making any sense.

"Anthea, I won't wait much longer. Open the door, it's time we left." Anthea could hear the hard tone in his voice. She knew he was getting impatient, trying to put as much distance and time between when Steve would get here. Anthea raced to her desk and grabbed a pen and piece of paper. She understood that she was going to be taken away, and if his knocking was any indicator, it would be in seconds. So she wrote down the only warning she could give him.

IT'S BUCKY

Anthea hurried to the door, the last thing she wanted was for him to break in and see what she wrote. Anthea took a deep breath as she stood in front of the door. With shaky hands she reached out to grab the knob and opened the door. He was standing on the other side, and looked slightly relieved when she opened the door on her own. He stood there staring at her for a second, before extending his hand for her to take. Anthea took one final deep breath, before placing her hand in his, and allowing him to lead her out of her apartment.

They left the apartment, and he led her down back alley after back alley. They were only walking for 5 minutes before she saw a black SUV parked at the end of the latest alley they were on. As they approached she watched as more men in black combat gear, exited the car. She noticed that all of the men were carrying guns at stopped in her tracts. At her sudden stop, Bucky turned to look at her and noticed where her gaze was stuck. He then moved in front of her, so he was blocking off her line of sight.

"Do not worry about them, I will not let any harm come to you. Now come, we have to go." He spoke softly to her, so that they wouldn't be overheard. He kept his gaze on her, and when she finally gave him a nod, he started walking again. She noticed now however, that the closer they got, the more Bucky began to move in front of her. When they finally got to the car, he was fully shielding her from the other men's view.

"It's about time you got here Asset, we told you not to take so long. You're be lucky if Pierce doesn't take her away after disobeying us. Now give her here." The man moved to reach behind Bucky, reaching to grab Anthea's arm. Before Anthea even had time to move away from the man, Bucky had his arm in his metal hand.

"You will not touch her. Nobody will touch her." He growled out as he squeezed the man's arm until Anthea heard a sickening snap. Bucky released the man and he fell to the ground letting out a scream of pain. The other men immediately raised their weapons to aim at Bucky, before what appeared to be the leader of the group stepped up.

"That's enough! Asset! Stand down! Nobody is going to touch your girl. We've already been here too long, and someone was bound to have heard Anthony's scream." The man ordered, as he tossed a black, canvas hood towards Bucky. "Now put this on her head, Pierce wants us to be extra cautious. Can't having her know where we are going." The man then turned around and proceeded to get back in the SUV. The others followed suit, with one man helping the man on the ground back into the car. Finally, Anthea and Bucky were the only ones remaining outside the car. He turned to her then, with an apologetic look on his face as he raised the hood. Anthea nodded slightly, and then Bucky proceeded to place the bag on her head, placing her in complete darkness. Anthea could feel her breathing becoming heavy, and Bucky placed his hands on her waist and lifted her into the car. She could feel him as he slid in beside her, and then he placed his arm back around her waist, holding her to him.

Anthea tried to remain calm, but she could feel herself starting to become hysterical. She thought she could be brave, go with him willingly. There was obviously something very wrong with the whole situation, and Bucky seemed to not even understand who he is. The men around him referred to him as 'Asset' only. She thought that she could be brave, thought that she could help make him remember Steve. Convince him to escape with her, and leave behind these men that are controlling him. But Anthea was beginning to realize that she's not brave, only a fool.

As if he could feel how hysterical she was becoming, she felt him lean towards her till he was whispering into her ear. "Don't worry, it will be over soon. Soon we will be home, and then we can finally be together." He then gave her a light squeeze, and Anthea could feel a tear sliding down her face.


End file.
